Blade-grinding machine



glTNgSSgSMM April 13,1926. 1,580,840

I J. H. MFVEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1924 s Sheets-She'et 1 INVENTOR ailwa April 13 1926. 1,580,840 J. H. M =VEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE Filed June-11, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY April 13 l926.

' J. H. M VEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE" R my Num @v I l llllll i i All eat 5 s i l r LIE N 1 fllllllla I;

Filed June 11 April 13 192s; 1580340 -J.H.M VEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE Fi1ed June 11, 1924 6 sneats-sheet 4 ATTORNEY WITNESSES w a6 April 13 1926. 1,580,840

J. H. M VEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR w CW BY ATTORNEY A ril 13,1926. 1,580,840

J. H. M VEETY BLADE GRINDING MACHINE Filed June 11 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 w lT v demvzm'on Patented Apr. 13, 19256.

@ UNITED STATES JAMEsrr. MeVEETY, or MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

BLADE-GRINDING MACHINE.

Application filed il'une 11, 1924. SeriallNo. 719,354.

To all whom it may concern:

, Be it known that I, JAMEs H. McVEE'rY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Blade-Grinding Machine,.of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a grinding machine, preferably of a portable naturefand particularly adapted for grinding blades of the type used on road graders and other earth working implements.

The general object of the invention is to' provide an improved grinding machine, which .15 simple and inexpensive'm its construction and may be easily transported, from place to place and driven by a gasoline engine, or' any other convenient source of power, for sharpening road grader blades and the like at the place where they are used. .More specifically stated, the invention'includes improved means for supporting the blade and holding it in contact with the grinding wheel, and automatic-means for reciprocating the blade slowly across the surface ofthe grinding wheel while the latter rotates, manual means also being provided for controlling the direction of travel of the blade independently ofthe automatic shifting means.

Theinventionconsists further in various "details of'construction and combinations of broken away.

elements which will be more fully explained in connection withvthe accompanying drawings, lllustratmg the'lnvention in its preferrediform.

' In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ma chine with a blade in position for grinding. Figure 2 is aperspective view of the same a's'viewed from the opposite side.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the invention withparts broken away and shown in section. a

Figure 4 is a front elevation, partially one of the tension arms.

Figures 10 and 11 are detail. viewsshowing the bumper attachment for the reversing Figure 12-is a detail perspective View of the reversing lever. I

Figure 13 is a detail sectional view of the locking bar, and its relation to the reversing lever. .1

The invention is adapted to be mounted on aportable platform or frame 1, which may be o'fany suitable construction, having supporting bars or posts 2 with alined bearlegs 3 secured thereto, 7 and in which the grindershaft t is journaled. Suitable brackets 5 are also secured to the frame, and carry bearings 6 in which is journaled a drum shaft 7 at right angles tothe shaft 4. The

shaft at is provided at one end with a drive pulley 8, or other suitable driving means, which may be connected to any convenient source of power, such as agasolineengine" or electric motor. An emery wheeli or other suitable grinding element, is secured to the intermediate portion of the shaft 4, and means are provided for holding a blade 10 in contact with the grinding wheel 9. and for slowly reciprocating the blade'longr tudinally across the surface of the grinding wheel as the latter rotates.

The means for supporting the blade 10 in cludes angular arms '11, which are'bolted to the end portions of the blade 10, and each of these arms is provided at its lower end with an extension 12 adjustably connected thereto by a bolt and slot connection 13, and having at its lower extremity a flanged roller 14 adapted to ride on a track 15 supported on a rail 16, which is rigidly connected to the main frame 1. Adjusting screws 17 are preferably'provided for elevating the arms 11 and the blade 10 'oarried thereby, and for maintaining the same in its adjusted position.

By employing the independent arms 11 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4t) and securing them independently to the blade 10 the device may be employed without change for grinding blades of varying lengths.

Vvhen the rigid scraper blade is fastened to the upper'en'd of the supporting arms 11 said arms and the body of the blade together form a carriage adapted to be supported in an upright position by the engagement of the rollers 14 with the track 15 and; capable "of reciprocation thereon, and also capable of having a limited swingingmovement on the track as a pivotal support thereby moving the edge of the blade towards or from the operating face of the grinder. As the track is arranged in a line parallel to the operating face of the grinder proper contact will be made. between the edge of the blade and the'surface of the grinder during the reciprocating movements of the blade.

The arms 11 preferably stand in an upright, substantially vertical position (Fig. 5) and they support the entire weight of the blade to be ground. They are preferably arranged in a vertical plane substantially beneath the portion of the operating face of the grinder with which the blade will contact during the grinding operation. This may be designated as the contact line between the edge of the blade and the grinder. As the arms 11 are freely supported upon the track 15 by the engagement of the wheels 14 with said trackgtheir upper ends and the I blade carried by them may be adjusted in or out to secure the desired contact between the edge of the blade and the surface of the grinder.

As the track 15 is supported independently of the grinder platform or frame, though for convenience connected to said frame, none of the weight of the blade is.

carried by the grinder frame. This frame may, therefore, be of the light construction indicated.

Tension arms 18 and 19 are provided for maintaining the proper pressure between the blade 10 and wheel 9. These tension arms are slidably supported in the brackets 20 and 21, respectively, which are secured to the main frame. The arm 18, as shown in Fig ures 5 and 9, has a downwardly turned front end portion 22, which overhangs the upper edge of the blade 10, and is provided with a roller 23 adapted to ride along the front face thereof. The roller 23 is caused to bear on the face of the blade 10'with a proper amount of pressure by means of an expansile coiled spring 24 on the rear end of the arm 18, and adjustablytensioned by means of a nut 25 threaded on the rear end of the arm. The other tension arm 19 is provided at its front end with a roller 26, which bears against the rear face of the blade 10, and is held at the proper tension by means of an expansile coiled spring 27.

By the means described just the desired amount of pressure may be provided between the edge of the blade and the grinder, the upper ends of the upright arms 11 swinging to ard the grinder as already described, un der the tension applied thereto through the tension arms and their operating springs.

Suitable mechanism is provided for slowly moving the blade 10 longitudinally, while the grinding wheel 9 is rotated. The mechanism for effecting this movement includes a worm 28 formed on the shaft 4, and in conmounted end to end on the shaft 7 and on 7 each of these drums is wound one end of a cable 31, which extends about a number of sheaves 32 rotatably mounted at one end of the frame 1, and extends thence to the opposite end of the frame where it is attached to a book 33, secured to the end of the blade 10. The drums are loosely mounted on the shaft 7, and have a limited endwise movement thereon between clutch collars 34;, each of which is provided with a lug 35 adapted to engage a corresponding lug 36 on the end of the adjacent drum 30, when the latter is moved longitudinally toward the clutch collar. The juxtaposed ends of the drums 30 are provided with peripheral flanges 37, which extend into the bifurcated end 38 of an angular reversing lever 39, which is intermediately fulcrumed at 40. The bifurcated end 38 of the lever serves to hold the drums 30 adjacent to each other, and to move them simultaneously in either direction, so that either one or the other of the drums will be clutched to the shaft 7, while the other drum is free. A brake arm 52 is supported on the frame above the adjacent flanges 37, and serves as a drag on the drums 30 to prevent the cable on one drum from being paid out too fast, while the cable on the other drum is being wound up. A suitable adjustable tension spring 53 may be provided for maintaining the proper engagement between the brake 52 and the flanges 37.

The position of the lever 39, and the consequent position of the drums 30, is deter mined by a lug ll projecting upwardly from the lever, and engageable in one of the notches 42 formed in .the under side of the locking bar 43, which is supported on the main frame and overhangs the lever, as shown in Figures 3 and 13. A pin 44 extends upwardly through the locking bar, and carries an expansile coiled spring 45, which may be adjustably tensioned by means of a nut 46 threaded on the end of the pin 44;, so as to hold the locking bar with the lug 41 in either one of the notches 42, but yielding upon the application of sufficient force to permit the reversing lever 39 to be shifted to reverse the direction of travel of the blade 10.

The free end of the reversing lever 39 extends downwardly and forwardly into the path of the respective arms 11, so that when the blade 10 has traveled in one direction until the grinding wheel 9 reaches the end thereof. the adjacent arm 11 strikes the end of the lever, and positively and automatically shifts the same to cause the blade to travel in the opposite direction. In order to prevent shock and possible breakage of the rerersing lever39, bumpers may be secured to nism is provided, it is preferred also to provide manually operable reversing mechanism, so thatthe direction of travel of the blade may be reversed at any moment desired. For thispurpose, the lever 39 is connected by a link to a manually operable lever 51, pivotally mounted on any convenient part of the frame.

In the operation of my invention, the blade is removed from the road-grader machine and bolted to the arms 11, which are easily adjusted to bring the blade into proper relation to the grinding wheel 9, which may be driven by any suitable source of power. When the blade and the arms have thus been bolted together they form an upright carriage supported upon the track 15 and capable of moving longitudinally thereon and of having a limited swinging movement about said track as a center, the edge of the blade being brought with the desired pressure against the operating surface of the grinding wheel. When the power is turned on, the grinding wheel begins to rotate, and at the same time the blade 10 begins to travel horizontally. When the blade reaches the end of its travel, the reversing lever is auto- 7 matically thrown into operation, and the blade then travels in the opposite direction. The entire operation of the machine is automatic. By means of the hand lever 51, how- I ever, the travel of the blade 10 may be re versed at any given moment, and, if desired, the hand lever 51 may be so adjusted that the lug 41 will be midway between the notches 42, as shown in Figure 13, and the drums 30 will then be in neutral position midway between the clutch collars 34, and neither drum will be driven.

While it is preferred to reciprocate the blade 10 by means of the cable and drums, it

will be obvious that the invention is not necessarily limited to this mechanism. It is also obvious that various modifications may be made in respect to other features without departing from the salient principles of the invention. It is, therefore, my intention to include all such modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a grinding wheel and means for operating the same, of a track extending parallel to the operating face of the grinding wheel, independent arms engaging said track and adapted to move thereon, and be guided thereby, means for rigidly connecting a blade to tliefree ends ofsaid arms, whereby said arms and blade, when thus connected, form a reciprocatory carriage supported upon said track and capable of a limited swinging movement aboutsaid track as a center, and means for holding the edge of the blade against the surface of the grinding wheel while the carriage is being said track. 7 1

2. In a machine of 1 the class dGSCIlbQCl. the combination, with agrinding wheel and moved longitudinally of means for-operating the same, of a track I arranged below and extending parallel to "the operatingyfaee of the grinding wheel,

upright independentarms provided with wheels engaging said track and adapted to move thereon, means for rigidly connecting.

a blade to the upperporti-ons of said arms, whereby said arms and blade, when thus connected, form a reciprocatory carriage supported upon said track and capable of a limited swinging movement about said track as a center, means for reciprocating the carriage thus formed upon said track and means for holding the edge of the blade against the surface of the grinding wheel while the carriage is being reciprocated.

3. In a grinding machine, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a grinding wheel secured thereto, means for supporting a blade, including a pair of arms having at one end means to secure them to the ends of the blade and having rollers at the other end, a track on which said rollers ride, said arms and the blade carried thereby being capable of a limited swinging movement about said track as a center and resilient means holding the edge of the blade in contact with the grinding wheel.

4. In a grinding machine, the combination of a rotatable horizontal shaft, a grinding wheel secured thereto, means for supporting a blade, including a pair of arms having at one end means to secure them to the ends of the blade and having rollers at the other end, a track on which said rollers ride, slidably supported tension bars having rollers mounted thereon, resilient means acting on said bars to cause their rollers to engage opposite faces of the blade and hold it in contact with the grinding wheel, and automatic means for moving said arms and blade back and forth on said track while the wheel rot-ates.

5. In a grinding machine, the combination of a rotatable horizontal shaft, a grinding wheel secured thereto, means for supporting a blade, including a pair of arms having at one end means to secure them to acting on said bars'to cause their rollers to engage opposite faces of the blade and hold it with predetermined pressure in contact with the grinding wheel, a drum shaft mounted substantially at right angles to the grinding Wheel shaft and driven thereby, a pair of drums loosely mounted on the drum shaft, cables connecting opposite ends of the blade to the respective drums, means for clutching either drum to the shaft to cause it to wind up its cable and move the blade across the grinding wheel in one direction, and means in the path of the blade supporting arms to shift said drums and reverse the movement of the blade.

6. In a grinding mechanism, the combination of a main shaft having a grinding wheel secured thereon, a track supported below the main shaft and parallel thereto, means on said track for supportinga blade,

a second shaft geared to the main shaft substantially at right angles thereto, a pair of drums mounted on the second shaft, cables connecting the respective drums to opposite ends of the blade, means for clutching either one of the drums to its shaft to wind up the corresponding cable and draw the blade across the grinding wheel as the latter rotates, means engageable by the blade support when the blade completes its move ment across the grinding Wheel to clutch the other drum to its shaft and release the first drum whereby to reverse the movement of the blade, and a brake to regulate the unwinding of the free drum.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature.

JAMES H. MGVEETY. 

